The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for protecting buildings such as residence or business structures, and more particularly, to systems and methods for protecting such buildings by enabling users to quickly and efficiently control utilities provided to the buildings, such as the flow of water or gas utilities.
Many residences and businesses are provided with public utilities, such as water and gas. These utilities are provided to the particular building continuously and under pressure through a main supply line. In most cases, these supply lines have an exterior shut-off valve that can be activated by the utility as necessary to terminate or suspend utility service to the building. In addition, the building may have a manual shutoff valve at the interior of the building. In a typical dwelling, the utilities shut-off valves are inconveniently situated within a crawl space or other difficult to access location.
Utilities leaks are a common source of damage to a building. Where the utility is natural gas, the ramifications of a leak can be disastrous, sometimes leading to an explosion. While water leaks are less ominous, they can be just as capable of ruining a building as a gas explosion. An unchecked water leak can flood a floor of a house, causing permanent water damage to the building structure, as well as to carpet or furniture within the house. In addition, the standing water leads to mildew that can cause permanent damage to parts of the house untouched by the water leak.
It has been estimated that a quarter million households have been severely damaged or ruined by unchecked and undetected water leaks. Payouts by insurance companies alone have been estimated to reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually for water leaks alone. While less prevalent, the damaging effects of gas leaks are also substantial when measured in terms of disrupted lives and the costs to repair or rebuild.
Many systems have been proposed to sense and address a utility leak at a particular leak site. For instance, it is known that washing machine hose failures and water heater ruptures are the most common causes of water leaks. Many systems are provided that can be associated with the particular appliance to sense a leak and shut of the supply of water to that appliance. Of course, one detriment of systems of this type is that each appliance must have its own system. Ideally, in a typical home, such a system would be provided for each toilet, each sink, the water heater, the washing machine and each outdoor faucet. For a business building, the number of monitored components can be even larger. It is easy to see that the cost of protecting every appliance or fixture can be prohibitive.
Some recent systems have been developed that shut off the entire water supply when a leak is detected. In systems of this type, a detector must be situated anywhere that a leak can be anticipated. As with the individual appliance shut off systems, master shut off systems of this type require a leak detector with every appliance or fixture. Another drawback of systems of this type is that they are responsive and not proactive. In other words, these systems only operate when a leak is detected and cannot be deliberately operated by the building occupant. In some instances, a water or gas leak may arise when the house or building is occupied. If the leak happens to arise where a detector is present, the occupant need not worry. However, if the leak occurs where no detector is present, the prior master shut-off systems are of no value, and may actually hinder the occupant's ability to manual shut-off the master supply valve.
A pro-active shut-off system can allow quick reaction by the building occupant when a gas or water leak is sensed. Even in the best case, an automatic sensing system requires that the leak occur long enough to be sensed. Of course, the leak is causing damage until it is finally detected and stopped. A pro-active system would allow the building occupant to stop the flow as quickly as possible before more significant damage occurs.
Moreover, a pro-active system would allow an occupant, such as a homeowner, to shut off the utility at will. For instance, when a homeowner leaves for an extended period of time, most utility companies recommend closing the master supply valve to the house. Since the master valves are usually inconveniently located, most homeowners either forget or elect not to close the supply valve.
Another aspect of a pro-active leak resolution system is the ability to notify the building owner of the existence of a leak, even if the leak has been automatically address by the system. For instance, some appliances may require a constant supply of the utility, be it water or gas, in order to operate. Moreover, some appliances and devices can be damaged if run “dry”. Thus, it can be important that the building occupant or owner be informed as quickly as possible of the advent of a leak and ensuing automatic shut off.
In other cases, a pro-active system can notify the building owner in advance of a leak occurring. For instance, one common cause of water leaks is burst pipes due to freezing temperatures. It is well-known that water pipes adjacent exterior walls and exterior faucets are susceptible to freezing temperatures. These risks are greater when the building is unoccupied for an extended period, such as when a homeowner is away on a winter vacation. While an appliance or the water supply may not fail, the heating system for the house might. Obviously, without heat, the house temperature can easily drop below freezing, causing every water pipe in the house to burst. A pro-active system would alert someone to this potential danger.
What is needed, therefore, is a pro-active utility control system that allows direct interface and control by the homeowner or building occupant. In addition, the pro-active system would be operable to avoid conditions under which a leak is likely to arise.